The Warwickshire Schools Forum met on 26 June 2025 to discuss a range of financial and strategic issues affecting schools in the area. The agenda included decisions on the scheme for financing schools, updates on the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), and consultations on de-delegation and funding transfers. The Schools Forum was also scheduled to discuss the forward plan for future meetings.

DSG Outturn 2024-25

The Schools Forum was scheduled to note the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) financial outturn position for 2024/25. The total DSG allocation for Warwickshire was reported as £600.639m, but after accounting for recoupment¹ the net allocation across the blocks was £298.845m. The report highlighted a significant overspend in the High Needs Block (HNB) of £47.461m, which is more than 59% above the HNB allocation of £80.153m. This overspend was attributed to:

• The anticipated Delivering Better Value (DBV) budgeted overspend of £17.900m.
• Further overspends on HNB services over and above these uplifted budgets of £31.844m.

The largest overspends were in:

• EHCP[^2] top-ups to mainstream schools (£9.147m)
• EHCP top-ups to special schools (£3.975m)
• Independent special schools (£12.443m)
• Post 16 placements (£1.752m)
• SENDAR Alternative Provision (AP) (£2.607m) [^2]: An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document that describes a child or young person’s special educational, health and social care needs and the support that is required to meet those needs.

The report noted that the pressures on the High Needs Block are not unique to Warwickshire and are a national issue. The financial position is being closely monitored as part of the DSG recovery plan.

The Early Years Block had an underspend of £2.455m, which was attributed to the funding being based on census data at single points in time, while payments are made to all providers based on actual usage throughout the year. The Central School Services Block (CSSB) also had an underspend of £0.165m, predominantly due to the budgeted contingency being unutilised.

The report also noted that the council has taken the decision to cease providing for the deficit above the 2024/25 budget allocation and is now relying on the DSG Statutory Override, which is available until March 2026.

DSG Recovery Plan Update

The Schools Forum was scheduled to receive an update on the SEND & Inclusion Change Programme, which is the main activity in the DSG Recovery Plan. The Delivering Better Value (DBV) Programme, initiated in April 2024, aims to mitigate the overspend on the High Needs Block.

The report noted that the number of children with EHC plans has been increasing, with 1,202 EHC needs assessment requests received between December 2024 and May 2025. The total caseload for children and young people in June 2025 was 7,252, compared to 6,054 in January 2024 and 5,314 in January 2023.

The report provided updates on several workstreams within the DBV programme:

• Resourced Provision: The number of resourced provision places is being expanded from 168 in January 2024 to 529 places by 2028. In September 2025, 14 more resourced provisions are scheduled to open and two are due to expand, creating a total of 402 places by January 2026.
• Inclusion Framework: The Inclusion Framework trial is comprised of 45 schools. The aim of the Inclusion Framework is to reduce the number of requests for EHC needs assessment because children's needs are met at SEN Support, and where requests are made that they are appropriate.
• Workforce Development: Resources have been developed to support children with EHC plans to thrive in mainstream settings.
• Digital Infrastructure: The Digital Infrastructure project is progressing well, with the procurement of a new system that is compatible with existing Synergy activity.
• Top-up funding: The EHC plan top-up funding project has rolled out a new top-up funding matrix since September 2023, aligning resources with the provision set out in the child's EHC plan.
• Supported Internships: There are currently 28 confirmed young people with an EHCP in supported internships, helping young people with EHC plans into work.

Section 48 Scheme for Financing Schools

The Schools Forum was scheduled to note the recommended changes to the Scheme for Financing Schools, and to approve the timetable for consultation on the changes with maintained schools. The report relates to Maintained Schools only.

Warwickshire County Council is required to publish a Scheme for Financing Schools, sometimes referred to as the Section 48 Scheme, setting out the financial relationship between the authority and the schools it maintains. The scheme for Warwickshire was last updated in March 2024 and agreed by Schools Forum in June 2024. The Department for Education (DfE) updated its guidance to Local Authorities on 27 March 2025 ('Issue 16'), and the proposed changes incorporate these updates.

The changes can be summarised as follows:

• Changes to reflect updated DfE guidance, including the addition of an extra item where a school's budget share may be charged:

the cost of an undisputed invoice for energy where a school has entered into an agreement with the Secretary of State for the supply of energy and failed to pay such an invoice (Regulation 23 of the regulations)

• Changes for clarification and to improve financial management, including:

  • Updates to wording on the provision of financial information and reports to mirror guidance.
  • The option to require more frequent budget submissions based on a school's financial position.
  • Clarification of the provision of budget plans by schools to the LA.
  • Clarification of the provision of financial data to schools by the LA.
  • Clarification of the deadline for submitting multi-year forecasts.
  • Updates to the link to the DfE website for information on efficiency and value for money.
  • Updates to the Register of Business Interests section.
  • Updates to the Purchasing, Tendering, and Contracting Requirements section to reflect the new Procurement Act 2023.
  • The removal of special agreement schools, which no longer exist.
  • Clarification of the annual deadline for the submission of Schools Financial Value Standard assessments by schools.
  • Updates to possible actions on the issue of a Notice of Concern, to include mandatory training for school governors.
  • Updates to the Restrictions on Accounts section in line with the LA's 2024/25 Treasury Management Strategy.
  • Clarification of permissions required for borrowing money.
  • Updates to Controls on Surplus Balances.
  • Updates to the list of maintained schools.
  • Updates to LA officer titles.

The Local Authority will consult with all of its maintained schools on the proposed amendments, with the consultation proposed to start on 30 June 2025 and conclude on 12 September 2025. The outcomes of this consultation will be reported back to the next meeting of the Schools Forum in September 2025.

De-delegation and Disapplication Consultation Timetable 2026-27

The Schools Forum was scheduled to note the timetable for de-delegation consultation for 2026-27 and the estimated timetable for any potential need to consult with schools on any potential transfers between schools funding blocks.

De-delegation is an option that enables some services to maintained schools to be provided centrally, with the funding retained by the local authority. For 2025-26, the services approved for de-delegation were:

The proposed de-delegation timetable is as follows:

• 30 June 2025: Consultation sent to all maintained primary and secondary schools.
• 12 September 2025: Deadline for schools to respond to the consultation.
• 25 September 2025: Schools Forum to receive responses from schools and make de-delegation decisions for 2026/27 budgets.

The report also noted that since the introduction of the National Funding Formula from 1 April 2018, Warwickshire Schools Forum has endeavoured to stay as close to the 'hard' formula as possible. The first indication of Warwickshire's funding for 2026-27 is expected towards the end of August 2025, when the ESFA publishes indicative DSG allocations.

The proposed timetable for consulting schools and schools' forum on funding proposals for 2026-27 is:

• 15 September 2025: Provisional date to send out consultation to schools on any changes to the 'soft' National Funding Formula and proposals on any transfer between schools block.
• 6 November 2025: Provisional dates for extraordinary Schools Forum to discuss outcomes from consultation with schools.
• 14 November 2025: Estimated deadline for submitting any disapplication to the ESFA to move funding between schools block.

Other Matters

The agenda for the meeting also included:

• The introduction of forum members and elections of chair and vice chair
• Voting and actions from the last meeting
• An overview of the Schools Forum for new members on Dedicated Schools Grant to be introduced by Liz Firmstone
• A discussion of the forward plan
• Any business raised by the chair